Looking at refurb iMac

[ChumpyD]

So looking at some refurb iMac to replace my PC. Some have the 4gb GPU and others the 8. Does it make that big of a deal? I to not game on this. Just normal use and some photo editing.

Thoughts?

 

[casperes1996]

So looking at some refurb iMac to replace my PC. Some have the 4gb GPU and others the 8. Does it make that big of a deal? I to not game on this. Just normal use and some photo editing.

I'd say that unless you already know you'll be VRAM limited, the VRAM is never the limiting factor for these GPUs. The amount of VRAM isn't as important as the speed difference between the chips, and that is definitely significant I'd say.

But for your use cases it would make no real difference

 

[Fishrrman]

4gb in the GPU should be fine.

What's more important is what kind of drive will be in it.

You DO NOT WANT a platter-based hard drive (only). You will regret this from the moment you first boot it up.
You DO NOT WANT a "1tb" fusion drive (SSD portion is only 32gb, too small).
You MIGHT WANT a 2tb fusion drive (SSD portion is 128gb, more workable).
You OUGHT TO consider a "straight SSD" inside -- BEST option for performance.

If you get the 27" iMac, get 8gb of RAM.
Buy more later and add it yourself -- easy and MUCH CHEAPER than buying it from Apple.

 

[macduke]

4gb in the GPU should be fine.

What's more important is what kind of drive will be in it.

You DO NOT WANT a platter-based hard drive (only). You will regret this from the moment you first boot it up.
You DO NOT WANT a "1tb" fusion drive (SSD portion is only 32gb, too small).
You MIGHT WANT a 2tb fusion drive (SSD portion is 128gb, more workable).
You OUGHT TO consider a "straight SSD" inside -- BEST option for performance.

If you get the 27" iMac, get 8gb of RAM.
Buy more later and add it yourself -- easy and MUCH CHEAPER than buying it from Apple.

I feel like we need a stickied post that has this and maybe a few other things to save people money and headaches.

 

[ChumpyD]

Thanks all! On my macbook pro 2012 I replaced drive with SSD the day it arrived I will shop around and see what I can find in budget.